CES 2010: Trends of The New Year

CES 2010 at Las Vegas has ended and amongst the staggering array of consumer technology covering all bases, a few trends have been set. The event itself featured manufacturers of all kinds of technology focusing on innovation and keeping it green, but there were a few trends that made it rather obvious to us, the consumer, that we would be seeing plenty of them during the course of 2010.

The Tablet/Slate
It was inevitable that the mobile phone industry was bursting at the seams with touch-sensitive technology and it was just a matter of time when we’d expect this tech to make it across the board to other segments. Of course touchscreen technology has been around for a while now and had its share of trials and tribulations and although widely used in all fields we can imagine it seemed to work best for the cell phone industry.

From the cell phone it made its way to the MID or Mobile Internet Device that focused more on internet connectivity rather than telephonic communication. This year we’ve seen the revival of the Tablet PC, another concept that has been around for quite a while but didn’t seem to catch on for some reason, but in 2010, that same concept has been revolutionized and is on this year’s main technology trends.

A few of the devices had been unveiled last year and some like the very mysterious Apple iSlate, were subject to intense rumors and speculation and should finally become a reality later this month. The Tablet, or as it’s being called now, the Slate, is set to take mobile computing to the next level and could put the netbook market on high alert.

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3D Vision

Yet another revival and upgrade to the technology industry is 3D. 3D movies have been around for ages but manufacturers have now brought it to our homes with 3D TVs, some of which won’t even require the use of 3D goggles. American cable operators are also gearing up to launch a few channels in 3D for those with televisions that support it. The bigger players have announced a variety of 3D supported TVs but what I didn’t seem to see were announcements of any projectors that supported 3D. It’s a little strange considering people have been watching 3D movies in theaters for a really long time. Perhaps that’s next on the list.

Cameras with connectivity

There were quite a few new cameras announced at CES this year with focus on High Definition video capture more so than imaging. Aside from just HD video capture another common thread was connectivity. Quite a few cameras are due to be launched this year with features that include GPS, Bluetooth and even Wi-Fi/DLNA access. They would also be bundled with software that will make uploading data to online sources a much easier task making it a more streamlined process. Camcorders are also getting smaller with a new range of Pocket HD Camcorders that are becoming increasingly popular.

The year of the Android

Amongst the array of new mobile operating systems that are making the scene, Android has the highest potential to stay above the others. While Apple’s OS X may still be one of the top ranking systems there’s no possibility we’ll ever see it ported to other handsets. Maemo could be a close runner up but we still have to see it on other handsets other than the N900. Android’s open source system makes it highly susceptible to a lot of customization making it a good choice for the mobile community as well as other areas. At this years CES, although the mobile phone segment seemed unusually quiet, quite a few Android handsets that were unveiled last year made an appearance. This is Google’s year it seems unless we see something better.

Green n clean

Green technology i.e. environment friendly technology is thankfully becoming a serious priority for most consumer electronic manufactures. It’s about time. From the mobile phone designers who are infusing green technology into devices, accessories and even their packaging to TVs and other components that are being designed to utilize less energy, we’re finally seeing a sense of responsibility emerging in these companies. Green initiatives have been taken up in recycling measures adopted by quite a few of the mobile phone companies.